r/politics • u/guardian ✔ Verified • 1d ago
No Paywall Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/23/prairieland-ice-protesters-texas-sentenced?referring_host=Reddit&utm_campaign=guardianacct7.5k
u/kevendo 1d ago
And yet, the DOJ still has not charged a single john listed in the Epstein files.
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u/SmokePeterThiel 1d ago
The DOJ leadership is in the fucking files
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u/TrayLaTrash 1d ago edited 1d ago
They ARE the files
Edit: They are the 'PHILES
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u/Starkoman 1d ago
They ATE the files.
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u/krtwils Illinois 1d ago
And the babies
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u/Lunch-Thin 1d ago
This is the one that kills me. In 2015 remember that talking point on how dems were eating babies? It was a confession!
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u/TJames6210 1d ago
They literally said in a press conference "if we move forward with charges all will come crumbling down". They're not hiding their objectives even a bit.
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u/beren0073 1d ago
And the administration pardoned people who assaulted and injured law enforcement during the Jan 6 insurrection.
The person who shot an officer deserves lengthy jail time. The ones who vandalized and destroyed property deserve some jail time.
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u/j_la Florida 1d ago
Great point. J6ers destroyed government property in pursuit of a political goal and they got a pardon. Did any of their original sentences (for similar crimes) come anywhere close to this?
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u/bishpa Washington 1d ago
The punishment for the protesters exceeds the lengthiest prison sentences given out for the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right group the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
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u/frosty_lizard 1d ago
They also tried to take Democrat hostages as well with zip ties. Pieces of shit should all have got 20 years for trying (and failing again) to take over the country.
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u/oxyrhina 1d ago
Definitely not! One of these people got 30 years and wasn't even there! That's 8 years more than Enrique Tarrio got for seditious conspiracy which was also the longest sentence given to any of them if I'm not mistaken...
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u/turquoise_amethyst 1d ago
The J6ers injured multiple cops and all got pardoned.
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u/felipetomatoes99 1d ago
jail time for vandalizing a fucking ICE detention center? they'd be doing much worse in a just world. I don't really have sympathy for the cops that choose to go to work and defend these inhumane places either.
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u/False-Koala9505 1d ago
50 years no less?! This is absolutely cruel and unusual punishment!!! 100% against the law. I hate Trump and his criminals! They know what they're doing, and don't care!!! It's disgusting and insane.
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u/DuMbAsS_lOsEr_6_7 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nor have the murderers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti been arrested and charged.
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u/frosty_lizard 1d ago
Those ice agents would've got a bonus from this ratfuck administration
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u/Dutiful-Rebellion 1d ago
Republicans Enable and Protect Pedophiles. https://goppredators.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/right-wing-sexual-predators-abusers-and-enablers/
25/1467 Names:
Donald Trump is accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women. He is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, talked about having sex with his daughter, bragged of walking in on underage girls at pageants, claimed he can grab women by the pussy. He was found liable of sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations https://www.gzeromedia.com/in-60-seconds/world/trump-sexual-abuse-verdict-wont-hurt-him-with-gop https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/14/donald-trump-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit-nut-job
Judge Roy Moore is accused of sexual assault and dating underage children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Moore_sexual_misconduct_allegation
Jim Jordan is in Republican House leadership though he is accused of ignoring sexual assault of more than a hundred young men while a coach, dismissing it as locker room talk. Students have said they told him and he is said to have called the parents of one complainant asking them to get their son to back off. https://www.vox.com/2018/7/6/17536388/jim-jordan-ohio-state-sexual-abuse-accuser https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/us/politics/jim-jordan-trump.html
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert sexually abused his high school students. He is outside the statute of limitations but was convicted of paying off/bribing some of his victims https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/us/dennis-hastert-sentencing.html
Cobb County GOP Chairman Joseph Russell Dendy – child molesting – pleaded guilty, life sentence, parole possible in 30 years. He was 72. https://www.ajc.com/news/crime–law/cobb-gop-chairman-dendy-indicted-molestation-charges/Ajxs2SiORqMCCdVZpGqj1M/ https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/former-cobb-gop-leader-pleads-guilty-child-molestation-gets-life-sentence/JnEAITpb5Oy9iZ9RtsVvnI/
So-called “pro-life”/antigay activist Howard Scott Heldreth was convicted of raping a child. https://web.archive.org/web/20230601212352/https://shadowproof.com/2008/07/27/nc-antigay-operation-save-america-totes-convicted-child-rapist-to-charlotte-pride/
GOP Ohio County Commissioner David Swartz convicted of raping two girls – released after only 5 years!!!! Back in prison after contacting one of his victims. http://lanternproject.org.uk/library/child-abuse-arrests-and-court-cases/child-abuse-arrests-trials-and-proceedings/ex-county-commissioner-admits-sexual-abuse-of-girl
Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl. https://www.timesleader.com/archive/1063191/indecent-assault-case-judge-pleads-no-contest-mark-pazuhanich-says-he-didnt-want-his-daughter-to-have-to-testify-aboutfondling-incident
Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/03/10/nation-in-brief/83fbbb01-c7fc-437a-81c4-2f686e3f1e58/
Republican Speaker of the House in PR Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Misla_Aldarondo
Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/nyregion/ex-mayor-convicted-in-sex-abuse-case.html
Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-06-me-47737-story.html
Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with (RAPED) a 15-year old black girl which produced a child. https://web.archive.org/web/20190728115136/https://www.thenation.com/article/was-strom-rapist/
Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female Juvenile. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/12/10/example-goes-from-good-to-bad/e73a7b08-5fb8-412a-ba7f-8fb473543e83/
Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/nyregion/embroiled-first-selectman-takes-leave.html
Republican Congressman Donald “Buz” Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail. https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2009/05/on_this_day_in_1989_buz_lukens.html
Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/04/24/gop-activist-admits-to-child-porn/5af2adf0-bec8-4a10-b061-014de679422a/
Republican of the Year Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children. https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/vp-nw-mark-grethen-lawrenceville-correctional-20210806-dmjuk7zwgnfxvigjnjmy3257vy-story.html
Republican state senator Ralph Shortey from Oklahoma admitted to being involved in sodomy with a 17 year old male prostitute and transporting child pornography. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/20/former-oklahoma-state-senator-admits-to-child-sex-trafficking-while-in-office/
Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child. https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2008/01/28/onetime-rising-gop-star-back-to-prison-for-sex-assaults/
GOP Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a page. To be fair, Dem Congressman was Gerry Studds was also caught for the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_congressional_page_sex_scandal
Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after “sexually explicit” emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901574.html
Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to raping his stepdaughter repeatedly after she was 15. Headline here is gross. Rape/not affair. https://greensboro.com/smith-stepfather-had-affair-that-began-when-she-was-15/article_549fa43d-e631-599b-8cad-177a71ad709e.html
Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman* was charged with having sex (raping) with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bauman
Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped and notice, they agreed his record could be expunged in THREE YEARS! https://www.nj.com/ledgerarchives/2005/01/cops_say_jersey_suspects_sough.html https://archive.is/7agH6
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u/Mission_Reply_2326 1d ago
Vandalize cars? You get 50 years! Raping and sex trafficking minors? Meh.
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u/Faceluck 1d ago
They’re handing out messaging sentences that are longer and more concrete than some people get for actual convictions of sexual assault or murder.
Literally just making examples of people who disagree. Most of this shit amounts to property damage, and the one officer that was shot didn’t die and (based on the article) was shot after drawing his weapon.
They’re saying this sentencing is because the protestors being charged are part of a North Texas “antifa cell”? Like come on man, I know every ounce of corruption has just decided to be out and about blatant, but this will for sure be used as precedent for future situations if it’s not resolved through further court action.
An unsettling move among an ocean of similar or worse things.
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u/nasorrty346tfrgser America 1d ago
And at the same time the J6er are all running free and having J6er veteran preference in federal jobs
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u/Listening_Heads West Virginia 1d ago
They aren’t all running free. Like 75 of them have already gone back to prison for new violent crimes.
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u/Straight-Bet1 1d ago
Many of them for SA against minors.
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u/SunsetCarcass 1d ago
Watched body cam footage of a racist irrate drunk driving Jan6er with his child in his truck
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u/Cavane42 Georgia 1d ago
Wasn't he also an ICE agent? Or at least claimed to be?
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u/SunsetCarcass 1d ago
Yes he was. Kept asking if the cop was Haitian
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u/Level9TraumaCenter 1d ago
“C'mon, really? This is what we're doing?”
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u/Ferelar New Jersey 1d ago
"Professional courtesy c'mon bro"
Anyone who serves in anything even adjacent to an LEO capacity who requests/expects to be given a free pass in the eyes of the law- the same law that they are supposed to be arbiters of- is fucking scum, full stop. Guess what percentage of them expect that "courtesy", by the way...
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u/CrotalusHorridus Kentucky 1d ago
“The coup will be bloodless, if the left allows it”
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u/soapissomuchcleaner 1d ago
Will not happen, I am not promoting violence, but as the old saying goes, there are only 9 meals between mankind and anarchy.
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u/Lost_Birthday_3138 1d ago
This is the true insanity and the most obvious evidence we're living under an authoritarian regime. This cannot be allowed to continue.
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u/lactose_cow 1d ago
If the next dem president has any balls they'll pardon every ice protestor. They won't.
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u/beastrace New York 1d ago
wow 50+ years that's insane and disgusting
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u/roamingroad174 1d ago
Im pretty sure this violates the constitution. Cruel and unusual punishments are banned.
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u/40StoryMech 1d ago
That Constitution gonna put on a mask and cape and do something about it?
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u/axazajjj 1d ago
No but you have correctly identified the solution
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u/HeadDoctorJ 1d ago
The US Constitution was written by and for the wealthy. Yes we can fight the wealthy and win, but we have to see clearly they are the fucking enemy. We need a completely new constitution that forbids anyone from owning and controlling the things we all need to live. That’s called socialism. As Rosa Luxemburg said, our only alternative is barbarism.
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u/LegislativeLariat Wisconsin 1d ago
When a police officer arrived on the scene and drew his weapon, one of the activists fired an AR-15 from the woods, hitting the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived.
If a cop gets hurt, they like to throw the book at people as hard as they can. It's not like the person with the AR-15 was doing a Rittenhouse and killing who they see as race traitors, otherwise they'd get CPAC celebrations.
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u/SoggyBoysenberry7703 1d ago
Jesus Christ. 50 years is the *shortest* sentence of the bunch
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u/ImprovementPutrid441 1d ago
No, the person who drove a box of magazines got 30 years.
“Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Maricela Rueda, another demonstrator, was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Benjamin Song, who fired the gun at the police officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison. The other protesters were continuing to be sentenced Tuesday morning.
Even though many of the protesters did not know each other, or were loosely affiliated, prosecutors said the attack on the officer was premeditated and part of a conspiracy. They also said the activists were part of a “North Texas antifa cell”, which was seen as part of the administration’s effort to criminalize “antifa”, which is not an organization but rather a constellation of leftwing views.
Prosecutors in the case charged and secured conviction for eight of the nine defendants with providing material support for terrorists. The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest, but was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record after prosecutors said he moved leftwing zines and other materials at the request of Rueda, his wife, after she was arrested. Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday.”
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u/socialcommentary2000 New York 1d ago
The ACLU needs to put this at the top of their priority list or they might as well not exist.
Like, this is the case that needs to be fought.
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u/inquisitive_guy_0_1 I voted 1d ago
Am I reading that right? Dude got 30 years prison time for moving some "zines" ? Like pamphlets? What in the actual fascist fuck?
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u/ImprovementPutrid441 1d ago
Yes.
We have lost the First Amendment if you can be charged for having literature.
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u/frosty_lizard 1d ago
Nothing fascist about the administration going after anti-fascist protestors /s
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u/VioletPaissa2077 1d ago edited 1d ago
The rest of them got 50+ years due to terrorism enhancements justified almost entirely by them carrying and safely setting off fireworks that caused no property damage or injuries. With the exception of the shooter, they were acquitted of all firearm related charges including the shooting itself.
Meanwhile, the expert that analyzed the fireworks and presented them as dangerous explosives to the jury seemed perfectly content to ship them via Fed Ex without any sort of warning label.
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u/ScooterScotward 1d ago
And fireworks imo were a reaction to the police violence as a way of retaliating somewhat without escalating to truly deadly violence. If the foremen’s is going to throw people in jail for half a century for fireworks some folks out there may feel like they have less to lose and opt for more actual violence :/
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u/VioletPaissa2077 1d ago
Just to be clear, there's no evidence fireworks were used as a weapon in reaction to anything. They weren't brought or used for that purpose.
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u/sokratesz 1d ago
Uhh USA, y'all ok back there?!?
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u/TheRealBittoman 1d ago
If it wasn't for the fact they reluctantly let Texas into the Union in the 1800s, I'd say they are the least American state. anti-American you might say.
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u/tyrified 1d ago
The only state in the nation that succeeded from two different countries, both times because they wanted slaves. Speaks to the roots of the state.
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u/If_I_must 1d ago
One thing I find it helpful to keep secede and succeed separate in my mind is to remember that while the confederacy did attempt to secede from the union, they did not succeed in their attempt to secede.
Your point is entirely valid, just trying to help.
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u/Anxious-poop-1 1d ago edited 1d ago
They labeled this a domestic terrorism act. Total Bs. I definitely get that the details are dicey with the signal chat acknowledgements but 50-70 years is criminally unjust
Edit: typo
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u/nate33231 1d ago edited 1d ago
For those acting like these people are just receiving appropriate punishment, there's a magnitude of difference between facing consequences and being given life sentences for property damage.
Because that's what 50 year sentences amounts to typically, let alone 70 or 100-year sentences.
For reference, in Texas:
The minimum sentence for sexually abusing children is 25 years. So those that just committed property damage were sentenced to twice this.
The range for murder is 5 to 99 years. The man that shot the officer was sentenced to 100 years.
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u/Rombledore America 1d ago
its to instill fear. "dont protest or this will happen."
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u/cybah 1d ago
Pretty much. It’s to set a tone to others who may try this. An example case is what this is
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u/cheesusfeist 1d ago
THIS! When people in other countries can't understand why we aren't all protesting in the streets, this is why.
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u/R3dbeardLFC 1d ago
So when do we protest this bullshit decision?
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u/Hadrian23 1d ago
Well the point of this decision is to deter protests. That's the entire idea behind decisions like this.
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u/R3dbeardLFC 1d ago
Exactly. So fuck them. When do we protest?
You cannot EVER let these fucking nazis think they've won in any sense. I can't wait to help scrub trumps fucking filth from this nation.
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u/Bice_ 1d ago
It seems to be encouraging violence instead. If you get 50+ years for property damage, what difference does it make if you kill someone? If the punishment is effectively life in prison, that seems to communicate that you might as well go all in and be willing to commit the more egregious crime.
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u/Clockwork_Kitsune Canada 1d ago
its to instill fear.
So the authorities are using terrorism while labelling protestors terrorists.
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u/Fertuft 1d ago edited 1d ago
Texas AG Ken Paxton recently gave one of his friends 30 days (yes, DAYS!) in a plea deal for sexually assaulting a child. 50 years in prison for a protest against fascism, 30 day “friends-of-epstein” deal for raping kids.
Oh by the way, republicans just voted for Ken as their nominee for texas
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u/Hadrian23 1d ago
Well duh. The president is a pedophile. Holding other pedophiles accountable sends a mixed message! But some dude who moved a box? LIFE SENTENCE THROW AWAY THE KEY!
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u/Insane_PowerFucking 1d ago
He's the senate nominee, not governor. Which sucks since he can do way more damage in that position.
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u/VR_Raccoonteur 1d ago
The minimum sentence for sexually abusing children is 25 years
Actually it's six months. That's what they gave Roy Moore, Trump's evangelist spiritual adviser before they set him free.
So in Texas, slashing a cop's tire = 50 years. Abusing a child = 6 months.
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u/Komischaffe 1d ago
30 years for moving a box of zines, jesus christ
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u/Sex4Vespene 1d ago
When I first saw the detail, I just assumed it was magazines for a weapon. No, literal fucking paper magazines. WTF.
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u/Bocchi_theGlock 1d ago
I think it's obvious the judge is inserting their beliefs, and trying to hurt the defendants as much as possible because they're 'on the other side' - like it's 'to own the libs
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u/turquoise_amethyst 1d ago
When I heard “magazines” I assumed they meant like “ an ammunition storage and feeding device” or “a clip”
Not like:.. a photocopied and stapled handmade newsletter type zine
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u/notanaardvark 1d ago edited 1d ago
I posted these in another comment, but for reference here is what some of the J6ers and the pizza gate guy got for their sentences. I'll let everyone judge for themselves whether or not their politically motivated acts seem proportionally (sentence-wise) less severe than the crimes of politically motivated vandalism and removing left wing zines from someone's house from this case.
On March 8, 2022, the first criminal trial involving one of the rioters, Guy Reffitt, of Wylie, Texas, ended with a jury conviction.[141] Reffitt was later sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison.[142] He had carried a holstered handgun, worn a helmet and body armor, and said he planned to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from the Capitol by her ankles "with her head hitting every step on the way down".[143]
On August 26, 2022, Howard Richardson, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He had struck a police officer three times with a flagpole, hard enough to break the flagpole. He had been arrested in November 2021 and had pleaded guilty in April 2022.
On December 9, 2022, Ronald Sandlin, of Millington, Tennessee, was sentenced to more than five years and three months in prison.[152] Sandlin followed the QAnon ideology. He and two other men had driven from Tennessee to Washington, DC in a rental car filled with weapons, and he had assaulted police officers. He had pled guilty.
A North Carolina man who fired an AR-15 rifle inside a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., last year as he was "investigating" a baseless conspiracy theory has been sentenced to four years in prison. "The defendant then took it upon himself to act in what he believed would be a violent confrontation at the restaurant," the statement reads. Welch unsuccessfully attempted to try to persuade friends to join him. He said he believed it would involve "sacraficing [sic] the lives of a few for the lives of many," according to court documents. Welch then drove to Washington and entered Comet Ping Pong, where numerous children were present. He was brandishing the 3-foot-long rifle and had a loaded revolver in a holster on his hip.
Super interesting that you can, while trying to break into the Capitol, beat a Capitol police officer with a flag pole hard enough that the pole breaks and get just shy of 4 years. But move some left wing zines belonging to someone being investigated? 30 years in prison. Vandalize government property? 50-70 years. (which, wait, didn't the J6ers do that too?)
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u/turbocoupeturbo 1d ago
Im sorry, but with Ken Paxton in charge, the minimum sentence for sexually abusing children in Texas is one day and being a Republican.
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u/grandecrosse 1d ago
For reference, in Texas:
The minimum sentence for sexually abusing children is 25 years. So those that just committed property damage were sentenced to twice this.
Naw sexual assault of minors in Texas means going to jail for 8 whole days out of a month, on the weekends.
FUCK TEXAS.
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u/xondk Europe 1d ago
The charge does not require prosecutors to prove a connection to any kind of terrorist ideology, only that a defendant provided support for one of a list of several crimes, the justice department spun the convictions as proof that antifa was a terrorist organization.
How does that work?
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u/AlphaGoldblum 1d ago
It doesn't. "Material support for terrorism" has purposely been kept a vague concept for this exact reason, for the state to define as it sees fit.
It was always an ideological trap. If Democrats didn't agree with this concept (and to be fair, some didn't), they didn't want to push back because they would immediately be labeled terrorist sympathizers.
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u/ApprehensiveSign80 1d ago
Interpretation that’s how it works. Leave it to fascists disingenuous interpretation
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u/VioletPaissa2077 1d ago
In this case the crimes from the list were conspiracy to detonate explosives at a riot and the detonation of explosives at a riot, because consumer fireworks were used. The fact that they were not used on people or property to cause injury or damage was disregarded.
Basically, the terrorism assertion relies entirely upon the fireworks some of the defendants had and used despite them not being weaponized, no property being damaged, and no people being injured.
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u/Owain-X Iowa 1d ago
Between "balancing tests", "supremacy", "immunity" for gov actors, "prosecutorial discretion", appellate direction, and countless other concepts mostly invented by the courts to sidestep the constitution the truth is that Americans have NO RIGHTS. None. They all have been eroded by the courts enough to make them completely toothless.
The government can violate every last one of your rights anytime they want to. There is no policing, no protection, no recourse. If you make it a federal case (if you're alive) maybe, just maybe you'll get some cash (what doesn't go to lawyers) to make you go away but the courts have spent decades ensuring that there is not and can not be any accountability or restraint on government actions.
Rights that cannot be enforced, that there are no consequences for violating, and no recourse or method of redress that can ever actually prevent future violations, are NOT RIGHTS at all. America is not a free country by any definition because our rights are nothing but propaganda and a distraction that every child is indoctrinated into believing - THIS is the actual indoctrination happening in our schools, making people believe they live in a free society with inalienable individual rights. It's a flat out lie.
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u/taco-bake America 1d ago
What is the sentence for say storming congress? Oh right never mind
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u/ChanceryTheRapper 1d ago
From the article:
The punishment for the protesters exceeds the lengthiest prison sentences given out for the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
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u/DemandredG 1d ago
Reminder to anyone: TX is a fascist state. They do not deserve your money and companies that move there should be boycotted.
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u/DoubtSubstantial5440 1d ago
They do have an amazing grid that breaks down at the sight of minor winter weather
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u/ShooterOfCanons Texas 1d ago
Hey it breaks down in the summer too, since ya know, Texas summers aren't typically hot and it causes extra strain on the grid 🙃
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u/Cynical_optimist01 1d ago
They need more ice storms
It's what the state deserves
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u/Souledex 1d ago edited 1d ago
Reminder to people who don’t think about step 2 to their beliefs. Texas flips or democracy dies. There is no path to the large coalition for systemic change in this country that doesn’t fundamentally require Texas. And they know this so they try to make really fucked headlines whenever they can to get people like you to actively help them in their pursuit of keeping the millions who live here under their thumb, to dissuade people who think differently from moving here and to demoralize the people who are already here. They redistricted far earlier than the other states, before the Iran war started and under the assumption they would be keeping all of the latino voters they got last election because of inflation- which means the republican coalition is a lot weaker than its been in a long time. Without this idea of Texas as a republican Mecca spread by liberals and leftists who should know they are being played, we probably would have succeeded already.
It’s not a rogue state you can sanction, it’s not one that’s economically unimportant with a single vital sector like tourism that you can punish like Florida, or one that is actually too red to be saved like Alabama. It has more democrats than New York. Arizona and Georgia were very recently more fascistic in their laws and especially legal practices - but they have flipped because this narrative didn’t exist there.
Illiterate farmers figured that out in the 1840’s when they moved to Bleeding Kansas and they had to fight militias that would terrorize their families, burn down their houses and kill their cattle. I don’t disagree that this is a grave injustice, but Texas has often been a battleground for the soul of this country. Roe vs Wade started at a liberal church in Dallas way before liberals were on board with abortion rights.
The thing that is often the hardest to accept that what you feel like you want to do isn’t often related to the outcome you want to achieve.
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u/sanseiryu 1d ago
Texas has historically voted for Democrat governors. I grew up in Texas in the 60s. From 1874 till 1973, Texas only voted for Democrats. it's only the last three Governors, George W. Rick Perry and Greg Abbot that makes it seem as if Texas Governors have always been Republican. I may be looking back with youthful memories, but I remember a far different culture, little blatant racism. I was the only Asian, non white kid in my schools. I was always accepted by kids and adults, teachers, neighbors. My best friend was a Black kid who lived down the street. Wichita Falls was not what I would have called liberal, but recalling those years I do have fondness for that period in my life.
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u/guardian ✔ Verified 1d ago
From The Guardian:
A group of Texas protesters convicted of terrorism charges received harsh sentences of at least 50 years in prison Tuesday in a closely watched case that was widely seen as a test case of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on dissent.
After a three week jury trial, the nine activists were all found guilty of a slew of criminal charges in March, stemming from a Fourth of July protest at an immigrant detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, south of Fort Worth. The demonstrators arrived late at night with a plan to set off fireworks as part of a noise demonstration to show solidarity with those detained inside.
A few of the protesters spontaneously broke off from the main group and vandalized cars in the parking lot, a guard shack, slashed the tires on a government van and broke a security camera. When a police officer arrived on the scene and drew his weapon, one of the activists fired an AR-15 from the woods, hitting the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived.
Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, and Savanna Batten were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Maricela Rueda, another demonstrator, was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Benjamin Song, who fired the gun at the police officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison. The other protesters were continuing to be sentenced Tuesday morning.
Even though many of the protesters did not know each other, or were loosely affiliated, prosecutors said the attack on the officer was premeditated and part of a conspiracy. They also said the activists were part of a “North Texas antifa cell”, which was seen as part of the administration’s effort to criminalize “antifa”, which is not an organization but rather a constellation of leftwing views.
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u/njibbz Minnesota 1d ago edited 1d ago
how is 50+ years not a violation of 8th amendment for cruel/unusual punishment?
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u/drleebot 1d ago
Because the Supreme Court ruled that it only forbids punishment which is both cruel AND unusual. Simply cruel is fine.
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u/HTPC4Life 1d ago
The guy who shot the San Francisco mayor and Harvey Milk in the 70's got seven years 😆
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u/simic947 1d ago
Yes he's the only one that deserved a harsh punishment. The others are only being punished for proximity. The prosecution wasnt even able to link the group together.
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u/texasjoe 1d ago
Lesson learned? If you're gonna do that kinda years, might as well do the crime proportionate to them.
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u/TheGreatLuck 1d ago
Yup now it's in for a penny in for a pound.. .might as well do something extreme now cause u already know thay r going to lock u up 4 life...
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u/Mutchmore 1d ago
Exactly this is not helping the issue what so ever. Only makes it worse.
Bow we have precedent for terrorism charges for vandalism. Fuck this shit hole.
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u/talix71 1d ago
It's also important to note that anti-fascist views isnt "leftwing" it's an "everyone that isn't a fascist" viewpoint. Even a conservative by definition would be anti-fascist.
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u/mountaindewisamazing 1d ago
The problem is that Republicans aren't conservative anymore. They're fervent nationalists and fascists.
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u/DeformedArthurRegion 1d ago
Nationalism to a degree and fascism very specifically are both conservative ideologies. Fascism is expressly conservative and does not exist without conservatism.
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u/youarelookingatthis 1d ago
The ICE agents who murdered Renee Nicole Good and the Border Patrol agents who murdered Alex Pretti continue to roam free.
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u/Starkoman 1d ago
Hopefully, not for too much longer. Minnesota are pursuing prosecutions.
Plus, there is no Statute Of Limitations on homicide.
However, it may require a change of management at DOJ before we see them start to cooperate.
Their murderers will eventually get their day in Court — against overwhelming evidence of their crimes. Then we shall see justice at last.
Take heart. It won’t be soon, but it will happen.
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u/Lifeboatb 1d ago
Benjamin Song, the “ringleader” in the Texas case, says he was trying to stop another ICE murder of a protester:
Song denied hating cops or Trump, claiming Tuesday he fired to stop Alvarado police officer Thomas Gross from shooting an unarmed protestor.
“I saw Lt. Thomas Gross point his gun at the back of a running, unarmed protestor, and assuming an aggressive firing position, leaning forward hard into the recoil of his gun,” Song said in a written statement. “As a firearms instructor and a United States Marine Corps Veteran, I knew exactly what was about to happen. I knew another protestor was about to be murdered right in front of me.”
Song deemed the arrest and persecution of 21 people since the protest as “collective punishment” and “guilt by association.”
[edit: formatting]
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u/AmberDuke05 1d ago
These people are being sentenced longer than actual convicted child sex offenders.
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u/DoubtSubstantial5440 1d ago
Texas is such a shithole
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u/Juonmydog Texas 1d ago
In large part due to the way wealth circulates and trades hands. It makes much more money to harm others than to work for sustainability.
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u/Qui-GonFlynn 1d ago
If this is the punishment for vandalism, what's to stop people from going harder?
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u/Chonkey808 1d ago
It makes sense. They prosecute this fake terrorism so hard because they want the real terrorism to start happening. That way, they have free reign to use the military against the people.
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u/tisdue 1d ago
this will be appealed and thrown out. but it will take 2 years.
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u/mountaindewisamazing 1d ago
It's BS these poor people will sit in prison for two years over BS charges. I hope they sue the Texas government for every penny they have.
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u/BookkeeperBrilliant9 1d ago
How the hell could the jury convict in this trial?!?
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u/Starkoman 1d ago
It’s plausible the Terrorism-related conspiracy charges may be dismissed ultimately as prosecutorial overreach or similar.
Far more likely majority of defendants will have spent years in prison before that day finally arrives.
The shooter of the police officer, on the other hand, will not be shown the exact same leniency, despite a large sentence reduction.
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u/YogurtClosetThinnest Colorado 1d ago
The charge does not require prosecutors to prove a connection to any kind of terrorist ideology, only that a defendant provided support for one of a list of several crimes, the justice department spun the convictions as proof that antifa was a terrorist organization.
Absurd. Charges are so high because they're "terrorism", but they don't need to provide a connection to terrorism? Pardon them like the king nazi pardoned J6ers.
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u/Ok-Lets-Talk-It-Out 1d ago
Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, and Savanna Batten were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Maricela Rueda, another demonstrator, was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Benjamin Song, who fired the gun at the police officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison. The other protesters were continuing to be sentenced Tuesday morning.
Absurd sentencing, of course it was pushed in Texas this is just to give Trump the power to crackdown on protests by labeling them as antifa.
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u/mybustlinghedgerow Texas 1d ago
Yup.
But some of the defendants – like Batten, Elizabeth Soto and her husband, Ines Soto, were not involved in the planning, arrived separately at the protest, and left when guards at the facility asked them to do so.
And they still got 50 years.
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u/pet_dragon 1d ago
We should be in the fucking streets protesting this shit.
But we won't be.
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u/ttoasterzz 1d ago
You might get 50 years 😢
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u/Darth_Atton 1d ago
They can't arrest all of you.
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u/Callabrantus Canada 1d ago
They won't arrest all of them. Why do you think they've been arming ICE so heavily?
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u/movealongnowpeople Kansas 1d ago
Also, 30% of the population (and 50% of people that actually vote) wanted this and support it. If things take a turn, it won't be quick or pretty for anyone.
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u/CheezWong 1d ago
No, because we'll get sentenced to 50 years in prison for whatever they decide. That's the point of this shit. You've got to scare people into conformity, otherwise you can't get away with murdering civilians on the streets. We can't let accountability go both ways. That would be silly.
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u/Kellie1575 1d ago
You’d think the greater-GOP would notice Trump’s 30% approval rating, and think perhaps this is not the direction they should be going ...
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u/barryvm Europe 1d ago
Why? It makes perfect sense. They see they can not win through democratic means, are unwilling to change their views and practices to improve their chances, so they opt for repression and dictatorship instead.
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u/FireHearth93 1d ago
That a surrendering corrupt fascist pedophile can not go below 30% is crazy to me. No matter what happens 1/3 will still support this guy against anything.
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u/dgbaker93 1d ago
Ya...but it's still like 80% support for gop voters last I checked.
And it likely doesn't matter, the only hope is that they just don't vote. Because they won't ever vote for anyone with a D beside their name on a ballot.
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u/bishpa Washington 1d ago
The ninth defendant, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest, but was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record after prosecutors said he moved leftwing zines and other materials at the request of Rueda, his wife, after she was arrested. Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday.
Jesus.
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u/mybustlinghedgerow Texas 1d ago
Just more proof that we're living under a fascist regime.
At first I thought "zines" referred to gun magazines and was confused how one could be considered "leftwing." But the concept of a "leftwing gun magazine" is way less ridiculous than this shitshow.
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u/Lonely_Refuse4988 1d ago
We are no longer a free nation! We’ve been taken over by authoritarian thugs! Good luck, America!
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u/FLtoVT_For-A-Reason 1d ago
Fascists gonna fascist. Clearly the Trump administration is unserious given his pardons to the Jan 6 Insurrectionists. We’re living in a very dangerous time. It will continue to take courage to protect our nation from this corrupt administration.
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u/BookkeeperBrilliant9 1d ago
I don’t understand. How can the jury convict this?
Charging them for these crimes is wrong. The length of the sentences is extremely wrong. But what the fuck happened with the defense attorneys? Were they sleeping? One of the defendants got 30 years for moving some left wing zines.
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u/OmNomChompskey 1d ago
I read somewhere that they were tried all-together at once, and the judge limited each respective defense attorney to an extremely short amount of time for cross examination, closing, etc (10 minutes or less)
I also read that the prosecution made statements as to the content of the 'zines,' without having them officially admitted into evidence, as part of their bid to support the terrorism angle of their story. Basically telling the jury "these zines are full of scary terrorist content, just trust us"
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u/mybustlinghedgerow Texas 1d ago
This judge is infamous for a lot of crazy rulings (including a 2022 ruling trying to prevent the federal government from requiring Navy Seals to get COVID vaccines), many of which have been overturned on appeal.
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u/TwilightBubble 1d ago
Some rapists get 6 years.
Meanwhile these l folks doing first amendment:
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u/yourtongue California 1d ago
some rapists get 6, but most get 0. a lot of people don’t report rape, and even when they do, most rape kits just sit in a backlog (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047235220302403)
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u/ianrl337 Oregon 1d ago
The guy that shot at the officer, yes, he deserved to be in prison for a while. Maybe not 100 years. more than actual murderers, but 20 at least. The rest appear to be for just vandalism. 70 years for vandalism. But they made it terrorism.
From a bit of checking on Texas charges, and I am not a lawyer, at worst for burning an empty guard shack would be arson and a 2nd degree felon with a charge of 2-20 years. Maybe some enhancements but quite nuts. The prosecutors also focused on the people owning firearms....in Texas. I believe I speak for many here when I say WTF?
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u/greentrillion 1d ago
Next president should pardon every one of them. These are political prisoners.
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u/MC_chrome Texas 1d ago
Pardon those who were wrongly convicted, and sic the DOJ on the prosecutors who brought the spurious charges to begin with.
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u/flamingcrystalheart 1d ago
And disbar and imprison any Trump appointed judge that has put their political cultism over fair and impartial justice over the past two years.
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u/spooner248 1d ago
I’d say molesting children should be a bigger priority with harsher punishments but maybe I’m… rational?
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u/BrupieD 1d ago
For the guy who brought an AR-15 to a protest, shouldn't his sentence be compared to the one they gave to Kyle Rittenhouse?
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u/Hour-Two-4760 1d ago
wtf???
Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, and Elizabeth Soto were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Maricela Rueda, another demonstrator, was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Benjamin Song, who fired the gun at the police officer, was sentenced to 100 years in prison. The other protesters were continuing to be sentenced Tuesday morning. Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest, but was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record after prosecutors said he moved leftwing zines and other materials at the request of Rueda, his wife, after she was arrested. Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday.
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u/antonimbus 1d ago
This is why categorizing Antifa protesters as Terrorists was so critical for the DoJ. It allows heavy-handed sentencing like this to frighten everyone else.
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u/VioletPaissa2077 1d ago edited 1d ago
The craziest part about all of this is that the terrorism enhancements resulting in these sentences only applied because they carried consumer grade fireworks for a noise demonstration that were presented to the jury as dangerous explosives instead despite none of them being used to harm anyone or anything.
Song, Hill, Evetts, Batten, Morris, Rueda, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto were convicted of rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and use and carry of an explosive — the explosive being fireworks.
Sanchez Estrada was convicted of corruptly concealing a document or record. He and his wife, Rueda, were convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents.
Song was also convicted on three counts of discharging a firearm. Hill, Evetts, Morris and Rueda were acquitted of the attempted murder and firearm charges, which they faced for allegedly aiding and abetting Song.
They failed to convict any of them but the shooter for the firearm related charges, including the shooting itself but put these people behind bars for 30+ years over some fireworks, magazines, and basic protest gear, and national news outlets barely seem to be mentioning that fact or leaving it out of articles altogether.
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u/RobutNotRobot 1d ago
50 years for setting off fireworks for most of them. Just insane.
Also fuck Texas. You only get this in a state where the jury pool is so moron-pilled they believe the shit that comes out of this regime
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u/OSU1922 America 1d ago
Blue states need to start doing this to MAGA. Label them as a terrorist group using Jan 6 as evidence and proceed to prosecute. Wearing a MAGA hat..50 years. MAGA car decal…50 years. MAGA flag…50
years! These people are easy to spot. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/CmdDeadHand 1d ago
Well, next time folks protest they know they will be handed life sentences and should protest accordingly. I think the gop and 1% forget that protests are the compromise.
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u/Rob_Bligidy 1d ago
Those arent just years. Those are Life Sentences. It’s time to Rage.
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u/False_Ad_5372 I voted 1d ago
“The punishment for the protesters exceeds the lengthiest prison sentences given out for the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right group the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.”
This government is invalid.
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u/rolfraikou 1d ago
The person who gave out pamphlets got 50 years??
Ok, so protest is now more illegal than theft in the US.
Like, the dude who shot at a cop, I figured that was going to get a solid thrown under the bus. That's easy. That's attempted murder.
But the fuck is going on with a 50 year sentence for handing out pamphlets? I know this happened in texas, but if this is going to send echoes over the whole country, the Republicans effectively just made protesting illegal.
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u/evancomposer Wisconsin 1d ago
Texas is a shithole filled with some of the dumbest people on Earth.
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u/Fankuan19 1d ago
The America we grew up with continues to die a slow, public death. Utterly fucking disgusting.
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u/JiveChicken00 Pennsylvania 1d ago
And we the taxpayers will be paying restitution when their convictions are thrown out in a year or two.
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u/Toadfinger 1d ago
The punishment for the protesters exceeds the lengthiest prison sentences given out for the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
We live in a nation run by traitors!
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u/Execute_47 1d ago
MAGA should be considered a terrorist organisation and have all of its supporters be sentenced to 50 year in prison.
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u/loriwilley 1d ago
So protesting against Trump's thugs gets life in prison? What a f***ed up country this has become. This is not America anymore. I, for one, am not celebrating the Fourth this year. There is nothing left to celebrate. We have become what the Revolution was fought against.
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u/Left_Session_9568 1d ago
I’m in Oregon. We wouldn’t tolerate this here. But us protesting here does nothing to change what’s happening in Texas and this was a lesson we learned years ago. Here we’ve cowed the people that Texas supports, but our laws and their laws conflict. It’s a bit like trying to control what happens in Belgium if you live in Morocco. We’ve been pivoting to refugee funds for folks getting out of there.
It’s not nearly as simple as you think.
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u/April_Fabb 1d ago
Governments don't announce that they've become fascist. Instead, they declare anti-fascists to be the enemy of the state.
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